Anker Powercore vs Powercore+: Selecting the Best Powerbank

PowerCore and PowerCore+ are the two main current brands of Anker – perhaps the most well known powerbank brand in the world. For most battery capacity points, you will notice that Anker has multiple powerbank models under both Powercore and Powercore+ brands. Please note, that the Astro brand of Anker products is now obsolete and it is highly advisable to only buy the PowerCore+/Powercore brands to get the best value for money and features.

Anker currently offers a huge number of powerbanks with different feature-sets but similar sounding names and prices, including many versions with obsolete features. For example, Powercore+ powerbanks with old Quickcharge 2.0 technology are still offered on Amazon and that too sometimes at higher prices than powerbanks with the latest Quickcharge 3.0. Both these look exactly the same, and it is easy to end up buying an older model at higher price!

Similarly, Anker offers an incredible five types of PowerCore and PowerCore+ powerbanks in 20000 mAH battery capacity range! Similarly, it offers five types of different Powercore and Powercore+ models in 10000 mah battery capacity, three types of Powercore powerbanks in 26800mAH capacity, and three types of PowerCore portable chargers in 13000 Mah capacity.

Here, we will explain the difference between the similarly named PowerCore and PowerCore+ powerbanks to help you select the best power bank. Please note, that we have excluded the obsolete models of PowerCore+ and PowerCore powerbanks from our comparison tables. In general, PowerCore+ models have more extensive feature sets than PowerCore power banks and cost more. However, many of the latest PowerCore and PowerCore II models offer superb value for money and latest features such as Quickcharge 3.0 charging.

Anker PowerCore 10000 vs Anker PowerCore+ 10050

Anker currently offers five PowerCore powerbanks in 10000 mAh range. A quick head to head comparison shows that the latest PowerCore II and PowerCore+ with QuickCharge 3.0 powerbanks are the only one that have both QC input and output and hence can both charge your phones and get recharged itself quickly in about 45 minutes. However, our PowerCore II Slim is our top pick as it far much slimmer than PowerCore+ and makes for an excellent pocketable powerbank.

If you prefer plain vanilla low-cost 10000 mAH version without Quickcharge, please note that there are actually two models – one with 1 port and the other with two ports. Anker also offers a version with only Quickcharge 3.0 Output (can charge your phone fast but gets charged itself slow). However, buying it makes sense ONLY if it is priced better than the top-end PowerCore+ model. Refer table below for the latest prices and purchase links from the only authorized Anker reseller – AnkerDirect.

Features

PowerCore+ 10050 QC 3.0

PowerCore II Slim 10000

PowerCore Speed 10000QC

PowerCore 10000 2 Ports

PowerCore 10000 1 Port

QuickCharge 3.0 Output
(to charge devices)

QuickCharge 3.0 Input
(to quickly charge the powerbank itself)

Gets Charged in 4 hrs with Quickcharge wall charger

Gets Charged in 4 hrs with Quickcharge wall charger

Special Feature

Super Slim! at just .6 inches

Best value for money

Number of Ports

2

1

1

2

1

Anker PowerCore 20000 vs PowerCore+ 20100 vs PowerCore II 20000

Anker currently offers five PowerCore powerbanks in 20000 mAh range. The PowerCore+ 20100 USB-C is the only power bank among these with USB-C input/output for fast charge/recharge and hence can both charge your phones and get recharged itself quickly in about 8 hours. However, it DOES NOT support QuickCharge 3.0 charging.

If you need QuickCharge charging, there are two 20000 mAH Quickcharge 3.0 output PowerCore models at lower price and look almost the same. But there is a very crucial difference – the newer version offers Quickcharge Input which lets you recharge your powerbank in just 4.5 hrs!! We therefore recommend the newer version: PowerCore Speed 20000 QC .

Then, at the tail-end, there are two plain vanilla models with no QuickCharge. The new PowerCore II 20000 is a bulky but high quality workhorse powerbank that has 3 ports and can charge 3 devices simultaneously at 2 amp each. The last version is the two-port PowerCore 20000 that makes for an inexpensive but slim and quality buy. Refer table below for the latest prices and purchase links from the only authorized Anker reseller – AnkerDirect.

Anker PowerCore 26800 vs PowerCore+ 26800

Anker currently has three PowerCore 26800 mAh models.

PowerCore+ 26800 PD is the latest model with USB-C PD 30-watt charging port. This model supports ultra-fast 30-watt charging for latest smartphones and USB-C laptops in the highest powerbank capacity allowed by TSA. Please note, that this version has (somewhat faster) USB-C PD and does not support the QuickCharge 3.0.

PowerCore+ 26800 is the Quickcharge 3.0 Input/output version of the above powerbank.

At the end, is the plain vanilla PowerCore 26800 with no quickcharge but a notable feature – it has dual inputs and hence can be recharged in about 7 hours, which is fast for a powerbank of this capacity. Refer table below for the latest prices and purchase links from the only authorized Anker reseller – AnkerDirect.

Features

PowerCore+ 26800 USB-C PD with 27-watt USB-C wall charger

PowerCore+ 26800 QC 3.0

PowerCore 26800

USB-C Port with USB-PD for Macbooks, Galaxy S8, Nintendo Switch

QuickCharge 3.0 Output

but has USB-C fast charge output

QuickCharge 3.0 Input

but has better USB-C input

Number of Ports

3

3

3

Special Features

30 watt USB-PD port for charging Macbooks, Nintendo Switch etc.

Has QC3.0 input and output

Gets charged in 7 hours using dual-input, No USB-C or QC 3.0

Time to charge the powerbank

4 hrs

4 hrs

7 hrs

Anker PowerCore 13000 vs PowerCore+ 13400

Anker has two models in 13000 mAh range.

The PowerCore+ 13400 comes with QuickCharge 3.0 output-only and is a good choice if you want a compact powerbank with QuickCharge output but with more capacity than the 10000 mAH version. Please note, that an older version of PowerCore+ 13400 DID NOT support Quickcharge Output and must be avoided.

The plain vanilla PowerCore 13400 is a less-known bargain at its current prices and is a good higher capacity alternative to the plain vanilla 10000 mah models. Refer table below for the latest prices and purchase links from the only authorized Anker reseller – AnkerDirect.

PowerCore 5000 is the tiny cylinder-shaped model which is similar to the even-smaller lipstick-size PowerCore 3350. However, a killer feature of PowerCore 5000 is that it offers 2 Amp fast charging (as well as 2 Amp fast recharging of powerbank) which the 3350 version does not offer.

PowerCore Fusion 5000 is a unique combo of wall charger and powerbank and is a good choice if you want your wall charger and powerbank in one package. When used as wall charger, it will first charge your phone and then charge itself. It supports 2 amp fast charging as well.

At the tail end is the ultra low price but quite old Astro E1. This is one of Anker’s oldest bestseller models, and is also its lightest 5000 mAH powerbank. Between Astro E1 and PowerCore 5000, we recommend PowerCore 5000 as it gets charged in half time than Astro E1.

Refer table below for the latest prices and purchase links from the only authorized Anker reseller – AnkerDirect.

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